RIP Mars Phoenix

The first glimpse of water-ice on Mars

Earlier this month, the Mars Phoenix Lander went silent, losing its battle against the cold, dark Martian winter. NASA has continued to listen for signs of life but has officially ended all operations around this mission. The lander’s demise was expected. In fact, it was only supposed to be in operation for 3 months, but the little lander that could went on for almost 5 months exceeding all expectations on its durability.

The Phoenix Lander launched in August 2007 and landed farther North on Mars than any other probe before it. During it’s time it carried out all kinds of experiments on the Martian soil to determine whether or not it was ever capable of supporting life. It even found traces of water-ice just below the surface.